By Marriage
by juniebbreeze
Summary: Rory and Jess had never got the timing right. She was committed, he was flighty. He matured, she ran. She got pregnant and he pondered sticking around. For the time being at least...
1. literacy language

**disclaimer: i don't own Gilmore Girls or any of the characters.  
quick note: thank you for checking out the first chapter! i wanted to challenge myself to write a love triangle between Jess, Logan, and Rory so i'm excited to explore that. hope you enjoy! **

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It had been a beautiful ceremony filled with whimsical décor, old friends, and delicious food which she had barely been able to enjoy. She wondered if her mother had felt the same consistent waves of nausea when pregnant with her or had the same aversion to anything with a color other than tan.

Her childhood bedroom looked drab in the morning light, sun creeping through the floral printed curtains onto the nail polish stained hardwood. How she had ever managed to have sex with somebody in a room this small was astonishing.

Was anybody else awake? She laid in silence hoping to hear a floorboard creek but was only welcomed with silence. She had so many questions that she wanted to ask her mother about but she knew that it would be welcome with the one that was on everybody's mind:

_Who's the father?_

The options were pretty slim considering she had slept with basically one person in the last three years besides the occasional anniversary sex with Pete- Paul- Ted? What's his name?

Either way, it wasn't him but the person who it was, was not the person that she wanted it to be.

Wanted was a really strong word. She didn't really _want_ this pregnancy. As harsh as that sounds and as much as people would shame her for saying that she felt it from her head to her toes. She knew she had options but all of those sounded equally as terrible. She really just wished she could go back in time and keep her legs closed, throw a chastity belt on, maybe triple up on the birth control even though health class told her that wouldn't work.

"Knock, knock!" A voice slipped in through the crack that had appeared in the door. She hadn't even heard the knob turn or the hinges creak. Wow- she was way to self-centered to be a mom.

"Hey!" She pulled at her tunic to hide her growing stomach from those who didn't know, and slid over to reveal space in the bed for the mop headed man.

He sat, arms lazily flopped on his legs, awkward body language taking her back to Senior Year of high school. They were in a very weird and distant way related now.

By marriage, nothing more.

It was still weird to have swapped spit with her stepfather's nephew. It seemed frowned upon, very medieval European. It kind of made her nauseous or maybe that was the smell of leftovers creeping in from the kitchen?

"What's up?" She nudged him, trying to open up the conversation, curious if he would be sticking around or heading back to his life of creating content far away from the town that had never let him.

He huffed, his usual word search taking longer than it had in the past, "Just trying to sneak out of here without anyone noticing!"

"But you saw my light on, didn't you?" Rory smirked, proud of herself for being the first one awake since ever, "Have you ever seen Luke sleep this late in his life?"

Jess laughed, "I didn't know it was humanly possible! Do you think he's dead?"

Rory nodded, "It's the only explanation!"

"It was nice being around everyone. It was nice seeing and… being!" He was stalling.

"Jess?" She allowed her hand to fall to his leg, "Do you want to get some breakfast or something?"

"I guess I could go for an omelet!"

She winced at the thought of eggs, "Think Caesar will give me the family discount now that it's official?"

"I don't even get the family discount and I'm blood related!" He challenged.

She removed herself from the bed searching through a box on the floor for something to wear, "I have nothing to wear!" Correction, she had nothing to wear that fit her comfortably.

"What you have on is fine!" He stood, admiring her petite figure as she turned in the mirror.

Her eyes caught his and she smiled. Smiled at the boy who had been in a bad phase but managed to turn it into the best lifestyle. She was so looking forward to spending the rest of her life getting to see him on family holidays, at weddings and in a darker thought, funerals. He always made every mundane event entertaining and she could spend hours talking to him about the latest in literacy.

"Can I ask you something?" She grabbed a coat and lowered her voice to a whisper as they made their way through the rest of the house. He returned the sentiment with a nod, men of few words often relied on body language, "Do you want children someday?"

He was taken aback, "What do you mean?" He had never really thought about having children in the conventional sense. He kind of saw himself maybe acquiring a few kids down the line, sort of like stragglers, similar to how Luke had created such a large family but never being in a hospital birth room waiting on his own children to enter into the world.

"Like do you want children?" She repeated the question, thinking about her own response, "You know a little human that is half yours, looks a little bit look like you, has similar mannerisms as you?"

"I don't really see myself as a father figure… at least not to infants! Maybe to a rough and tumble high schooler. I'd take him in, let him live about my diner- this isn't where you were going with the question?" How did he always have such a good read on her?

Her smile was mesmerizing as she stared into him, "If I tell you something do you promise to just take it as what it is and also never talk about it again?"

"You're scaring me a little bit Gilmore!"

She was scaring herself, an unstoppable laugh bubbling up from her insides as she stated the same words she had the night prior, "I'm pregnant. I am having a baby!" Stars Hallow was so empty at this time in the morning that she was surprisingly not worried about blurting out the phrase in the middle of the sidewalk on her usual walk to Luke's, "Literal fetus growing inside of me right now! Half me and half another person just forming fingers and toes and a LIVER! Oh my god, a liver!"

"And kidneys! Two of them!" Jess chimed in, shocked internally but remaining calm for the fact that if he didn't, Rory might have a straight up mental breakdown at the rate she was going.

"You're so right! And I'm going to have to teach it to walk and talk and that coffee should always be black and if you think that you want eggs, you don't- you always want pancakes!" She stopped outside of the diner, noting that the early birds were already eating their rye toast and reading through the newspaper making the ends crinkled and the centers stained with bits of food and debris.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Jess grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him, his voice barely above a whisper. He had such a calming and protective presence despite being the cause of so much chaos.

"Someday I will. But today's not that day." She grabbed the door for him, "You first brother-nephew!"

"Is that the term we're going with?" He crinkled his nose in disgust, "That's horrible!"

"I'll work on it!" The two plopped at a table in the corner, the same old menu looking suddenly less appetizing. He noticed the green tint in her pale cheeks but he didn't want to throw his concern into her chaos.

"How about we just get it to go?"

"I'm fine, it's-," Her hand flew to her mouth and she closed her eyes sharply, "To go would be good!"

"I'll meet you outside!" He shut both the menus, sliding them back where they found them and ushering her out front away from the sharp smell of bacon and old lady perfume mixed with dark roast and sunny side up breakfast bakes.

She caught her breath, the fresh air a welcome response to her heightened sense of smell.

Being pregnant really sucked.


	2. prying

"So… Luke said that Jess is coming back again next weekend? He's staying above the diner? Does this have something to do with the sneaky breakfast to go you guys ate on the porch?" Lorelai shoved a pop tart and a steaming cup of coffee in her daughter's face. The whirlwind wedding had ended with the biggest drop that the tall brunette had heard in years but she didn't want to pry, careful to tread in the territory that she was allowed too.

"I don't think so!" Rory exclaimed, averting her eyes away from the nosy women, "He just likes the change of scenery and being around family."

"And being around you!" She hummed, "Does he know?"

"Know what?" She tore apart the dry pastry in front of her, smashing it into the plate pondering if she really wanted to spend the morning puking up brown sugar cinnamon.

"That you're-," Rory's eyes met her mother's as she continued, "Pregnant! That you're pregnant!"

The younger of the two hushed her mother, "Don't say it so loud!"

"Do you think it's going to make it go away? Because I thought the same thing! If I said it enough it wouldn't be true but look here you are! Fully functioning human!" Lorelai mocked.

"No, I don't think that! I'm just not ready for…." She pointed to the ceiling which led up to the bedroom where Luke had been hiding, "The world to know!"

"For Luke to know? What do you think he's going to say?" Lorelai grabbed the plate away from her daughter and threw the broken breakfast snack into her mouth, "He'll be delighted to be Grandpa Luke! It will give him an excuse to finally turn that backwards baseball cap forward…"

Rory rolled her eyes, "I know that he'll be happy but it's… it's embarrassing!" She sighed, "It's like my whole life is just one big embarrassing monologue of I don't have a job, I'm having a baby but I don't even have a place to live- I don't know!"

"Hey! I was in the same boat as you…."

"There is such a HUGE difference between your situation and my situation." Rory's head fell to the table and she huffed, "For starters, you were sixteen!"

"I hate to be this person but you still didn't answer the question… did you tell Jess?" She was doing that thing that she had tried too hard to avoid but as the mother, she needed to know the gory details.

"Yes, I told him! I felt bad… I don't think he really knew how to react but he also felt guilty or something. I don't know it was nice being able to talk to somebody about it…." Her fingers pulsed against the linoleum table as she pondered life, love, and Jess.

"You can talk to me!" Lorelai steadied her hand by gripping it with the force of life, "You know I'm here for you babe! Till death do us part… HA! Still coming through with the wedding puns."

"Are you sure? Because I don't want you to be uncomfortable! Because it's kind of uncomfortable, right?" Rory leaned forward, lowering her voice.

"It's just strange! I mean you made it this far without getting pregnant- sometimes I wondered if you ever would but I'm excited, really!" Lorelai nodded reassuringly, "And I want you to talk to me about it! About every little step of the way and we'll find you the perfect place to live with the perfect nursery and the perfect little playroom…" She smiled remembering the little elephants that she had dreamed would lace Rory's room someday, "We got this."

Rory finally cracked a smile, "Okay! Because I have a list of questions…" She ran into her bedroom, slamming a desk drawer, and flinging some stuff out of a box. Lorelai worried she'd return to the table with a book the size of the whole house but it was just a plethora of small lists written down on receipts, napkins, and the small notebook she had always carried with her since her road to true journalism began. Rory cleared her throat before starting, "To begin- am I ever going to NOT feel like throwing up?"

Lorelai laughed, "The throwing up is the least horrific part of the nine months!" She thought back to her own pregnancy that had been filled with minimal morning sickness but an excess number of cravings followed by more pounds gained than her torn band t-shirts would allow.

"Do I even want the rest of these answered?" She shoved them into the middle.

"Let's take a trip down to Andrew's today! We can get you the important books! I didn't read any of them but Sookie said they're important so-,"

"You told Sookie?" Rory stood, scooping up her questions, fears, and concerns and shoving them back into a hidden drawer.

"Just over text! And I didn't say it was you I just said if somebody I knew was pregnant what book should I get them and then she said is it Rory? And I said I'm not at liberty to discuss that!" She held her cup of coffee up.

Rory rolled her eyes pouring the remainder of the pot out for her, "Very discreet!"

"Hey, I don't need to know who it is but have you told the father yet?"

"Not yet!" Rory crossed her arms, rocking on the balls of her feet, "But I will! I'm going too! When the timing is right…." She peered towards her bedroom door, panicked, "I'm a little tired so I'm just going to-," She was grateful to have an out to the awkward conversation of who's the daddy.

"Okay sweetie…" Lorelai nodded sensing the tension, "I'm going to head to work but feel free to swing by this afternoon if you're up for it!"

"For the book trip!" Rory reminded her.

"Yes, the book trip!" The brunette watched her mini me shut the door on the conversation.

She thought back to when she was in this same position. Scared, confused, embarrassed even. It wasn't exactly easy to get knocked up in modern times but here they were. Another generation on the way. Lorelai really wanted to know who the father was, assuming the worst but hoping for the best. In that case, she couldn't help but wonder how this was going to turn out.

Being that a wedding (to a different woman) was pending and all….

Rory didn't think about that- about the other women. She never had. When she had slept with Dean or spent weekends in London with Logan she was always just thinking of her own happiness and her own need in the moment. Some would call it selfish or reckless but to her it was body over mind- something a Yale graduate had a hard time admitting still happened.

She didn't want to be that way anymore. That's why she couldn't tell the father and completely ruin whatever it was that tied him to Odette. And she would make damn sure that her child never turned out like Luke's kid, knocking on his door thirteen years later, inserting itself into a life in process. It was just going to be the two of them.

It's how it had to be.


	3. modern musings

She couldn't remember the last time she had been up this early. It was only because the strong urge to eat half a tub of ice cream and a block of cheese had hit her a few hours prior and she had decided to scarf it down on the couch instead of going back to sleep.

The diner was completely empty, no pans or hot grease splashing, no customers chirping- it was peaceful. The muffins on the counter looked appetizing- would Luke notice if one of them was missing? She shook the thought and headed to the poorly decorated upstairs unit.

Jess had been up most of the night, working on another novel- a series of short stories based on his crazy antics like a car crash involving ice cream, a bird pecking him in the eye, amongst countless other things that had happened to him during his short stay in Stars Hallow. He was surprised to see Rory so early but grateful for her presence. She looked a little swollen and puffy compared to her usual self but in reality, it only made her more beautiful.

His crush may have never subsided but he was ninety percent sure that hers had, "Good morning!" His shocked voice made her cackle in joy.

"Surprised to see me, huh?" She slid her shoes off and crawled onto the couch, "I like what you've done to the place!"

"I'm just visiting for the weekend!" He shut his laptop and turned to face her, "Besides Luke would absolutely kill anybody who tried to touch this place with a coat of paint!" His eyes narrowed, "How have you been this past week?"

The brunette shrugged, pulling at the loose thread in her sweater trying to unravel the details, "It was alright!" By alright she meant she had spent the last few days shoved under covers on her Mom's living room couch, moping and staring at a computer screen filled with blank pages.

"Rory I've been thinking-," It was never good when Jess started to think too much, "I've been thinking about your situation…"

"My situation?" She raised an eyebrow, situation didn't seem like the right world to call the parasite.

"And I'm getting stressed out for you! Where are you living? What are you doing? I know I said we'd never talk about it again but how can we not?" He was hoping that she'd fall into his arms, begging to move into a place just the two of them, beg for his help.

Rory would never do that though, "Well I started reading those books about expecting which is very horrifying and by very, I mean very. I also found an apartment off of Peach that has two bedrooms so I figure I can do some freelance writing and make a life for myself there!" She had never sounded so unsure of anything since ever but it was the only option she could think of.

"Rory…." His eyes begged for her to come up with some other way to finish that sentiment, "The father, have you talked to the father? Who is the father?"

She glanced at her phone calendar. The father was getting married in approximately three weeks. This weekend he was probably tasked with deciding on the final arrangements of flowers and doing a quick walk through of the venue making sure that each stained-glass window was as perfect as it was when they were installed in the 1800's. He was probably swooning over Odette who was at her thinnest and most beautiful. She hated to think about it- it made her blood boil. "The father doesn't matter! Because he's not a part of this." Her anger bubbled to her pale cheeks and small specs of red traced her bone structure, "He didn't ask for this and it wouldn't help anything! It's me and this thing together and nobody else!"

Instead of responding to her anger he just looked into her, aware of the uncomfortableness she felt from being out of control, "But what if he finds out eventually? Do you think he'll be upset that you didn't tell him to begin with?" As a kid who had come from a life of not knowing his father, he knew the resentment felt on the end of the kid and it wasn't pretty.

The Royal Highness himself could care less about a baby or her at this point. They had washed hands clean, left with a final kiss, only to chat when they inevitably ran into each other at a Yale alumni event years down the line. Would he recognize the blonde-haired kid she'd drag with? Would it have Logan's eyes or his thick blonde hair? That was a bridge to cross when it happened. Her head shook, "I don't think he cares to be honest! And why should he? We're not a thing! We're not together!"

"Do you want to be?" Jess wasn't lying when he said he needed answers. Very specific and well-planned answers. She didn't have a lot of those to give.

"When you said you wanted to hang out today I didn't think it was going to be us playing twenty questions!"

He shrugged, "You're right, I'm sorry! What did you want to do today?"

She wanted to sleep for fourteen hours under a pile of covers away from the rest of the world but if she had to do something it mine as well be something productive, "I guess I need some furniture for my apartment and then I was going to swing by Lane's and pick up a couple of things, is that okay?"

He nodded, "I'm just along for the ride!"

"And to drive!" She warned, "As long as you don't crash!"

"Hey!" A chuckle emerged, "It has been years since that ordeal, you're really still not over it?"

"Somebody has to give you a hard time because I really feel like your friends don't! You seem far to pleasant lately for anyone to be poking fun at you." They crept down the stairs, hearing louder and clearer the pans starting to clang in the background. The diner was still an hour away from opening but Luke was always there far earlier than that to make sure that Caesar's closing job was up to par.

"Morning Luke!" Jess slipped behind the counter and poked his head through the kitchen window, "Rory and I are headed out!"

Luke yelled, "You and Rory? Wait up!"

She had finally mentioned the unavoidable to him about mid-week during a dinner of beef on buns that would typically be something she'd scarf down. He was concerned why she wasn't eating, checking her head for a fever, offering up chicken noodle soup. Her mother had shot her this "you tell him or I will" look and the words blurted out. Understandably he was shocked yet elated- the emotion that they both knew would take over. Within days the pillows had become fluffier, the fridge filled with easy prep foods, and a small plush toy in the shape of a bear was laid out on her desk accompanied by matching baby books. She swore that he had seen a World's Best Grandpa mug mixed in with the other miscellaneous ones in the cabinet but she chose to look the other way.

"Hi Luke!" She yelled, eyes still fixated on the muffins.

"Do you want something to eat? I can make you some oatmeal or some eggs? You should be sitting, why don't you sit?" In a panicked blur he started brewing coffee, decaf first even though he knew she would never drink that sludge, "Where are you guys going today?"

What was it with men and their incessant need to know everything about anything.

She smiled, "Muffin and a cup of coffee that isn't decaf would be very much appreciated!"

"Of course!" He threw three in a bag plus a sprinkled donut, "Can I least make it half caf?"

"If you want me to dump it out?" Her eyes challenged him, more like her mother every day.

He groaned, "I can NOT in good faith give you this! Have you not been reading the book?"

"And that's our queue to go!" Jess chimed in, grabbing himself a braided mess of cinnamon sugar and a mug filled with hot water and black tea, "Can we borrow the truck?"

Luke raised a brow, "Do you have a good reason?"

"We're buying furniture for my new apartment!" Rory had already lunged in to her breakfast, leaving a small trail of crumbs around her.

"Of course! The apartment!" He had seen it and he wasn't that impressed. He already had a list going of the fourteen things that needed immediate fixing and another list of thirty that would need updating within the first year. He had pushed Lorelai to let her stay, they could build another addition or buy out the house next door from that weirdo with the board games and the lawn sprinkler. It wasn't just that the place was run down it was the fact that she would be streets over, having to walk up and down stairs with an infant, a bag full of who knows what, maybe some groceries- it just wasn't ideal. He shook back to reality, "You can use the truck, of course! Your mom isn't going with you?"

"Mom is more into the decorating, I'm taking Jess for the heavy lifting…." Rory smirked at the small smile that crossed his lips as she voiced the words referencing that she needed him.

Jess grabbed the keys from the register and waved to his Uncle who had already thrown himself into wiping down counters and preparing for the day. He was never one to stall on the hard work, something that Jess had undermined in his youth but recognized the more he found his own passion, "Shall we?" He held an arm out for Rory, to help her through the mess of half up chairs and down the steps outside.

She gladly took it, tired from lack of sleep but excited to find her own things for her own place where she'd be starting her own family. Her vison was unclear, the borrowed furniture from exes, the leftovers from her grandparent's pool house, and the wooden bed frame that she had, had since her youth were all their own entity of things that didn't match and didn't align with her personal style. The closest she had got to determining any sort of style of her own was a dorm room at Yale but the 2000's were a different time and things had changed in the world of modern interiors.

"I hope you're ready for a long day!" She urged, climbing into the passenger seat careful not to spill her fresh coffee.

He was ready for any day with her. The longer the better.


	4. kitchen plates

_Luke got the dresser set up. How does it look?_

She had been texting Jess pictures of the apartment as it came together the entire week. He had helped drag every piece of furniture up the stairs after they had spent the entire day picking pieces out at what felt like hundreds of stores. It was weird carrying a queen-sized mattress and crib into an apartment of the girl that got away, that he was still so fond of, so fascinated by. How could somebody be so incredibly smart, beautiful, and funny all roped into such a petite package?

_Looks great! Can't wait to see it in person._

She smiled thinking of her and Jess watching shitty movies on the couch or drinking coffee at the table while swapping notes on their most recent novels. It hadn't hit her that maybe he wouldn't want to do that, especially with a screaming infant hanging out right next to them in some weird chair contraption throwing dry cereal to the ground.

Speaking of the infant, her stomach had grown inches in days and she hoped that this pattern didn't continue. She already was down to three shirts and a couple pairs of leggings but her bank account cried at the thought of having to buy temporary clothes. In fact, it had done a lot of crying with all the new furniture- how could a mattress the size of her foot cost as much as a month of rent?

_Can you come Thursday? I have an ultrasound appointment and my mom can't make it. Thought you could tag along and spend the night at my place…. I'll make dinner and by make I mean order take out!_

She deleted the sentence a dozen times before hitting send and deciding that if he was offended by the suggestion she could play the pregnancy brain card. Her heart pounded thinking about the two of them in that cold room, her stretch marks exposed to the person that she first decided that she may be willing to have sex with. The first person she felt truly attracted to in **that **way.

She still felt that way about him. Attracted to the idea of him without a shirt, his hair perfectly slicked back to reveal the thick eyebrows of a well-groomed manly man, the sharp bad boy who challenged her on an intellectual level and frustrated her socially.

Screw you second trimester hormones.

Her fingers tapped against the empty dresser as she waited nervously for a response. What could be taking so long? It had never taken this long before. He was usually quick witted, eager to comply with her requests.

_Let me clear my schedule and I'll be there._

Her body shivered with the excitement of showing him the place that he had helped build. Should she cook for him? Who was she kidding- she hadn't cooked for anyone in years and she certainly wasn't any good at in then! They'd get take out and watch a classic on her new couch. It would be perfect.

_You can stay with me instead of at the diner. I'll be happy to have the company. Gotta get used to two I guess!_

"What are you just leaving the door unlocked for strangers to waltz right in? What if I was a murderer? Or a kidnapper?" Lorelai appeared with gusto, bags in hand, looking flawless in a wrap dress and loose curls.

Rory raised an eyebrow, "You'd be the loudest kidnapper or murderer ever!" She grabbed the bags, "What did you bring me?"

Lorelai smirked, "Healthy things like calcium and protein and maybe some chocolate! Oh, and this throw pillow. You HAVE GOT TO SEE this throw pillow!" She pulled a large mesh of white from the bag revealing a picture of her face glued permanently to the front.

"What is this?" Rory gripped it with the force of life, confused why anyone would create such a monstrosity.

"It's cute, right?" She set it on the couch, fluffing and shaping it, "That way even when I'm not here I'm still kind of here! I don't want you or Baby LG to forget who I am!"

"How could we when I have this weird feeling you're going to be over every day?" Rory smiled, hoping that the statement was true.

"Listen I can move some things around on my schedule Thursday if you need me to be there! I hired that new girl and she seems really promising!" Lorelai picked at a few of the items that had been lazily placed on the shelves, turning chaos into control.

"It's okay actually! I found someone to come with!"

"I've been replaced?" Lorelai spun, hand on heart, pained at the idea of somebody else taking her spot, "With who?"

"Meddler!" Rory's eyes narrowed, "But if you must know it's Jess! He's coming back into town Wednesday night…."

"Because he was planning to or because you asked?" Lorelai plopped to the couch, nervous about this relationship that was forming between her daughter and the boy she had tried so hard to phase out.

"It just worked out that way!" She lied, flicking at the empty photo frames on the wall that would be filled with month by month shots of the future Gilmore.

"Are you two like… an item?"

"NO!" Rory exclaimed, offended that her mom would even think that, "I'm not trying to be an item with anybody right now! I don't need any more changes then are already happening!" She started to get emotional at the uncertainty caving into her world.

"You two have just been spending a lot of time together!" Lorelai ignored the tears welling in her daughter's eyes, well aware that they caused were by an overload of certain things that weren't just general emotion.

"We're friends! We've been friends!" Her defensiveness stems from a place of constantly fighting against everyone on the relationship they shared in their youth. Some things people just never grew out of.

"It looks great in here! Very modern but classy- kind of like a mix between your Grandma's house and a very sterile hospital…" Lorelai quickly changed the subject, "Hey are you going to find out the gender?"

"The gender?" Rory hadn't thought about it. Would it matter?

"Yeah like Boy? Girl? Alien?" She reached her hand to her daughter.

"I can't have a boy!" She exclaimed remembering when Lane had been in the same boat, "Oh my god but I can't have a girl!" She felt queasy.

"Alien it is!" Lorelai chuckled nervously, "You'll do great with either. I promise! Look at how far you've come! Your own pad, a dresser, KITCHEN PLATES!" She watched her daughters already pale skin turn a new shade of white, "Don't worry babe. You got this! And if you're nervous-,"

"I swear to god if you say call the father I will literally throw up right here. I might do it anyways!" Rory had hit a new level of loud, her voice in a high-pitched squeal that was only audible to dogs.

"Growing a human makes you moody!"

"You make me moody!"

"Are you fourteen?" Lorelai scrunched her nose, "Come on, let's go make Luke upset by drinking caffeinated coffee and eating sunny side up eggs!"

"You really know how to make a hard to resist deal Gilmore!" Rory grabbed her bag.

"It's a blessing and a curse!" Lorelai nudged her out, shutting the door on the future for just a moment.

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**quick note: thanks to everyone reading! just curious- who here is team Jess and who is team Logan? as i write more and more to this story i'm having a fun time with the Jess and Rory pairing! :)**


	5. empty room

**quick note: I am amazed at how split everyone was over Logan and Jess. I'm Team Logan for life but the chemistry between Rory and Jess on the show is undeniable. Even though this is a Jess chapter, Logan will be making an appearance sooner than later because our girl can't just have a happy ending! :) Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following! **

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Jess hadn't said a word the entire trip to the doctor's office. He had spent minimal moments walking the linoleum floors and staring into eyes of somebody in a white coat. In fact, it made him mildly uncomfortable. Not authority but the germs, the questioning, the smell of sanitizer, the people in wheel chairs. Maybe he got that from Luke who also cringed in that sort of environment. Like uncle, like nephew!

Rory however had gotten surprisingly used to it. She knew the drill.

1\. Walk in.  
2\. Check in with crabby nurse at the front. If you're lucky crabby nurse is on break and you get the nurse who could easily be your Grandma. Not your as in Emily Gilmore but like a generic Grandma who smells like sugar cookies and perfume.  
3\. Sit in uncomfortable waiting room chair for one single eternity.  
4\. Get called back by somebody who isn't possibly old enough to work here.  
5\. Let her measure all sorts of bits and pieces of your being and ask you what you've been eating.  
6\. Lie and say you've been craving nothing but raw spinach smoothies and fresh fruit.  
7\. Say the chips in your tote are your mothers/brothers/friends/the person sitting next to you in the waiting room. Literally anyone but yourself.  
8\. Lift your shirt up in a very exposed manner.  
9\. Hate your life as they put cold goo all over you and then use a cold wand to get a little furry black and white image.  
10\. Get emotional at the image because it's your kid even though it kind of looks like an abstract bean.  
11\. Wait for another person to come in- the actual doctor, the gyno- who knows, they never really introduce their actual title.  
12\. Verify that baby is still very much so alive and growing. Your pants not fitting and your forming cankles didn't make that obvious.

She had some new steps to add to the list this time. Watching Jess squirm uncomfortably, become increasingly pale, and actually gag audibly at one point were all unexpected treats that accompanied this typically mundane visit.

"Was it the growing part?" Rory asked as she slid her shirt down and grabbed her bag, "Is that what upset you?"

"I wasn't upset!" The dark-haired boy of mystery defended his reaction, "It's kind of Alien you have to admit!"

"Oh, it is completely. It's so creepy!" She steered him toward the small coffee shop that sat right to the side of the waiting room.

"So, when do you find out if it's like a boy or a girl?" He ordered for them, whipping his wallet out.

She shut him down, "I insist! You came with me after all!" He wasn't going to fight her. She sighed, "Next visit…. I'm not really ready either way I guess!" She was grateful to be holding a cup of coffee in the moment, gave her something to focus on other than the growing problem inside of her.

"You'll do great with either!" His tone was so genuine.

"You think?" She wasn't near as confident in her abilities as he was with her.

"I know so! Now, you said I got a take-out dinner if I'm not mistaken!" A man lying on a hospital bed rolled by, audibly in pain, "Not that I'm particularly hungry…"

"Chinese? Italian? Burgers? INDIAN?" She chimed, "Your pick!"

"Nothing says Stars Hallow like Chinese food!" He grinned, opening the door to the car for her.

She couldn't agree more, "Hey do you think that you could like tell what that image was? When they showed it?"

He bit his lip, visibly uncomfortable with the idea of remembering that moment, "What do you mean? Like could I tell that it was an ultrasound?"

"I guess so!" She shrugged, "It just looks like a blob of nothing. You know that episode of Friends where Rachel starts crying because she can't see it. That's how I feel all the time. But I don't have anybody to point it out to me when I get home!"

"Well you could…." He cracked his neck nervously, shifting in his seat, "You could call the father?"

It was weird hearing Jess of all people acting as the one who was pushing her towards communicating with another guy. He had always been the one requesting she didn't get with that dirt bag or that jack ass or that whatever. He had always wanted her to himself and now that they were in this car together, that they had been spending more time together- he was constantly forcing her elsewhere.

She wondered if the feelings that had been their once before had completely diminished.

They _hadn't_ on her side now that he had stumbled back to her life.

Sure, she spent years not thinking about him- moved on, thinking about other people and other things but she always came back to Jess because he was so similar to her in every sense. Nobody else could calm her like him, rile her up like him, create this new persona within her, like him.

"This is the turn!" She pointed to the sign that said Peach on it and he audibly laughed.

"You think I don't remember the streets! I have been here a time or two…."

"Sorry! Sometimes I still head straight to my home, home and forget to turn to my new home, home!" She exclaimed, laughing with him, smiling with him.

"It looks great!" He shut the car off and peered at her window where he could see in to reveal an empty picture frame and a silhouette of the couch.

"Well that's super creepy! Remind me to keep my blinds closed!" She led the way upstairs to the small two bedroom that was filled with bright lights and bright white décor. It was sterile, yet homey. Neutral. Plain like a dulled version of the style she wore daily, "Ta-da!"

He dropped the small weekender bag that he brought with on the couch and smiled at the furniture that he had so carefully helped her pick out. It had truly come together.

"This is the living room obviously and that's the fireplace that I haven't figured out how to work yet and these and then just to your right here is the kitchen!" She led him through the hardwood hallways to reveal her own touches on the historic property.

"Very nice! Perfect for cooking!"

"Because I do so much of that!" She agreed, "And off the kitchen we have two bedrooms, this one is mine and this one is…." She stood at the doorway staring at the emptiness, "This one will be for whatever…" Her breath staggered as she imagined the lack of sleep, the constant night light, the sound of a mobile coming from this very room. It was overwhelming- she wondered if it would ever stop being that way.

"This is your bedroom?" He changed the subject quickly, grossly unsure of how to deal with the emotion she was displaying. He waltzed in to the room covered in clothes, shoes, and unpacked boxes that were left half open. On the bed with a plush comforter, tucked perfectly into the corners. She had even managed a throw pillow. How was the rest of her life chaos but her bed organized? He was drawn to the bookshelf where she kept heaps of novels, short stories, poetry, and old textbooks.

"I'm working on alphabetizing it!" She stated as he picked through everything.

"Of course, you are!" He smiled and picked up the first book he had ever given her. She had kept his notes just as they were, in the margins, "I don't know if I can stay tonight Rory…" His heart fluttered thinking about sleeping feet away from her on the couch. It would be all around too much for him to handle.

"Oh… well…" She wanted him to stay so desperately. She wanted to talk and laugh and forget and just enjoy somebody who wasn't doting on her for being a baby maker but instead for being an avid reader, writer, and human being. She wanted to spend time with somebody who made her feel alive in an authentic way and not a superficial small talk way, "You can at least stay for dinner, right?"

She was plopped perfectly criss crossed on her bed, hugging a pillow to cover her growing stomach. She looked radiant in the natural light coming in from the large bay window that faced the town square. It would be a perfect reading nook. Jess could already picture her sitting and watching the snow fall over the streets.

In a perfect world, he'd greet her with a cup of coffee, steal a kiss between pages, and cozy up next to her with a candle burning. It had always been what he wanted and for a minute, she had too. He should have taken more advantage when he was able too.

"You okay?" She extended a hand to pull him next to her. He happily obliged.

"How come we never got the timing right, Rory?" Goosebumps traced her arms when he whispered her name.

She was nervous, visibly shaken, "What do you mean?"

He steadied her with the lightest grip of her bicep, "We were always on a different page or in a different stage of our lives? It seems like it's going to continue that way now…."

"Jess I-," She paused unsure of what to say, wanting to- for lack of better words- jump his bones straight back to Kyle's party senior year but she felt that it was no longer her place to initiate. She understood if he didn't want anything to do with her romantically and she was okay where they were, "I'm here right now! My timing is open and I'm open and I'm really confused and scared and I'm grateful for-,"

He cut her off, his lips gracing hers as he forced her onto her back with the weight of his body. She obliged, removing the pillow from in-between them, hoping that her belly wasn't enough to ruin the moment. It didn't seem to be as he ran his hands up and down her torso, gently- respectfully. He was being a true gentleman, something he had previously struggled with. She pulled back to get a good look in his eyes, to make sure he was serious about this. After all, this moment had been a long time coming and neither were sure it was going to happen.

"Are you?" Her chap stick left a mark of gloss on the edge of his lips and she wiped it away gently.

She nodded and pulled him closer, "Am I what?" Her voice was low, like her mother was in the next room and could hear them or something. Nomad mentality!

"I can't just be a one night thing with you. I need to know that you're…." He didn't know how to word it without sounding obnoxiously cliché, "Are we going to give this a try?"

"If you want…." She whispered.

He nodded.

He had wanted this for a long time.


	6. pastry conversation

"Mom! Are you here?" The petite brunette slammed into the kitchen of the Inn startling the temporary chef who was busy putting together a tray of cold sandwiches, "Sorry!" She exclaimed, try to help pick up the sliced lettuce and chunks of soft cheese, "Have you seen my mom?"

The man in the white coat and top hat raised an eyebrow.

"Lorelai Gilmore? Yay high?" Rory tried to raise a hand slightly above her head to indicate a slightly taller version of herself, "Eyes like this?" She pointed to her own blue orbs.

"Rory!" A sing song voice piped in from the doorway, "Thanks Albert! You can just go back to making those! I am so, so SORRY for the interruption." She pulled her daughter out of the door and into the dining area where an empty table for two was lined with two cups of coffee and some fresh pastries.

"How did you know I was coming?" Rory sat down and sipped from the steaming tea cup.

Lorelai scrunched her nose grabbing a scone, "I didn't?"

Rory shrugged, "I have some news!"

"It's a girl?! Please tell me it's a girl!" Lorelai dropped the chunk of starch and leaned forward eagerly, "Can we name her Lorelai!"

"That's not for another two weeks, calm down!" Rory hushed her mother, still unsure of who knew and who didn't.

Her mother pouted, "Fine, what kind of news then? Something boring… something actually news-ish?"

"Well if you'd pipe down and let me tell you!" She rolled her eyes at her mother's constant need to fill silence, "I slept with Jess!" A giant faux smile graced her face, "Is that the weirdest thing you've ever heard?"

Her mother frowned in disgust but quickly tried to wipe it away with a smile, "Is that a good thing? Is he the father?"

"Is this how twins happen?" Rory's eyes widened.

"Not how it works sweetie…" She grabbed her daughters hand, "Fill me in! What happened here? What's going on? How did you end up…."

Rory groaned, "I don't know! He went to that appointment with me and you remember the second trimester and he just smelled so good and he was talking about books!" She felt stupid for doing it, for talking about it, and for making a big deal out of it, "He slept in my bed. The first guy to sleep in my bed and it's Jess!"

"This feels very throwback Thursday!" Lorelai stared into the wall, "So hate to circle back here but, are you two an item now?"

"I don't know what we are!" Rory's head dropped to the table and she wondered what this meant for her or for him or for them. She was not one to have a one night stand with her ex-boyfriend, it was usually a multi night stand that spanned over multiple countries and hotel rooms and usually featured a dinner other than Chinese takeout. It wasn't exactly her shining moment.

"What do you want it to mean? You know just because you're going to be a single mom doesn't mean that you don't get to do your own thing still! Just because I didn't date doesn't mean you don't get too!" Lorelai reassured her. She was surprised she was encouraging her into the hands of a guy she had spent a majority of her time hating but there was something about the idea of her having a complete little three-person unit, a shoulder to lean on in the middle of the night- it made her motherly heart a bit more comfortable. "Is that your phone?"

Rory looked up from where her head had been laying on the table to see her cell phone flashing with an unknown number. She declined the call, "I'm not going to date! I don't want to date. I don't even-," Her phone started to vibrate across the table again which she promptly declined.

"Miss popular!" Lorelai chimed.

Rory rolled her eyes, "Probably somebody trying to sell me an outdated magazine subscription!" The phone rang for the third time. She angrily answered, "Not interested!"

"Rory?" A voice on the other line that sounded all too familiar piped up.

"Logan!" She exclaimed, her mouth falling to the floor, stomach creeping into her throat, "H- Hi." It had been years of knowing him but butterflies still crept in when she heard that relaxing deep sound coming from his mouth, "What's up?"

Lorelai's hands flew in a panic, her own eyes as wide as saucers. She watched as her daughter stood from the table, understandably wanting the conversation with her baby daddy to be a bit more private.

"What's up with you Ace?" She could sense a strange atmosphere coming from his line. Was it wedding nerves? Maybe she left an accidental note that Odette stumbled upon.

"Nothing new here…." She cupped her stomach, pondering if this was really the moment to tell him.

"Where are you at?" He was acting very strange, his vague questions and direction of the conversation concerning.

"Just at the Inn visiting my mother…" She plopped onto the couch in the library and studied the book that somebody had left on the end table, "Where are you at?"

"You tell me…" His voice echoed through the phone line causing her to turn her head to the doorway.

It was hardly believable. He stood like a pillar in a sweater and khaki pants. His idea of casual. His hair fell flat like he had been wearing a hat for the past few hours and the bags under his eyes were prominent like he hadn't slept in days. She was suddenly extremely self-conscious and faint, how was she going to explain the situation that was unfolding in her midsection to the man who caused it.

"No hug?" He raised an eyebrow holding his arms out.

She paused. Frozen in her spot.

"So, you want to tell me what's up then?"

He knew.  
There was no way he didn't know.  
Hello nausea.


	7. reunion

He grabbed her hair as she leaned over the trash can that was conveniently located near her. It reminded her of the college parties where she drank a little too much and he made sure to keep every lock of brunette clean and organized in the face of those wicked hangovers.

"I'm so sorry…" She spits, trying to get the taste out of her mouth, "That happens sometimes…." She pulled away from him, composing herself, smoothing her shirt over her figure.

His eyes couldn't help but stare, vacantly as he examined the giant elephant in the room. She could sense anger in the way his brow furrowed and his upper lip curled. She hadn't seen this reaction often but when she did it always ended in a screaming match. It wasn't ideal to duke it out in the middle of her mother's inn but desperate times.

"Were you not going to tell me?" He challenged, his fist clenching.

"Tell you what?" She played dumb, "How do you know this is yours?" Wow that was really dumb, "I just didn't want to ruin your wedding to Odette over this!"

"Over this?" He laughed out loud, "Over this Rory? Are you kidding me?" He couldn't believe his ears, "This is exactly what you ruin weddings for!"

"How did you find out?" She was getting emotional, tears of frustration welling in her eyes, arms crossed across her chest as she tried to sink into herself.

"Your Grandma was at a party with my mom and it got brought up. Word got back that you were single and pregnant- the true talk of the highbrow society! I figured our timeline if I counted back lands with me being the father unless you were sleeping with a multitude of other guys?"

"Maybe I was!" He knew she wasn't, "But I'm not even sure I'm keeping it!"

"It?" He cracked a smile, "You don't know the gender yet? When do we find out?"

Was that a twinkle in his eyes? It made her heart lurch the way he suggested _we_ instead of just she, "Soon! I go to the doctor every other week…." She reached into her bag, digging through debris until she found her wallet.

"What are you giving me money to leave?" He chuckled, trying to lighten the tense mood. She ignored the ill attempt instead pulling an ultrasound picture out and passing it off. He gripped it with his life, examining the blur, wondering how these two ever got here. She felt the same way every time she looked down and started losing inches of her toes to her belly. His eyes glanced up, "Can I keep this?" It was his first moment of it, of this. She had been living in it and he had barely had twenty-four hours to process it.

At first, he didn't believe that Rory would hide something so huge and life changing. At least not from him, they maintained that respect level through college and well into adult hood. After denial, came anger and resentment. If she didn't want him to be a part of it then he wouldn't be! Her loss. He could never hold onto that feeling though, eager to be a part of something bigger, something like this. Step three was hopping on the first plane to New York and taking two buses, a taxi, and a weird tricycle ride from one of the local colors just to get to her front door.

She nodded, "I have more at home that I can show you- if you want…" She wondered what he would think of her shitty two bedroom above the pharmacy filled with half put together furniture and scattered black and white images.

"Any of those ones where you can see all of the little features really clearly?" His eyes refused to leave the image, entranced.

"Um not yet!" Rory wasn't exactly up on what people who were expecting did and to be honest, a specific picture of the thing growing inside of you seemed super creepy and way to personal for her liking.

He grumbled, "We're going to have to get you booked for that! Is the nursery set up? Do you have a theme?"

"Logan!" She stopped him, grabbing his arm and pulling him down to the couch that overlooked the thousands of well read books, "I got this. You can go home. You have a wedding to plan for!" It seemed like he had forgotten; she had not.

His usual tan skin flushed, "Rory are you not listening to a thing I'm saying!" His voice grew louder, "I'm not getting married. I'm not going back. I'm staying here; I'm staying with you!"

He was doing that thing where it was his decision not theirs, not hers, not anybody but his. He was so rash, never thinking anything through, rushing to conclusions and making up obligations. Mitchum and the rest of the family already resented her enough it would be unforgivable to call of the marriage to beautiful Odette just because of the unwanted Gilmore spawn.

"Quit Logan! Just stop!" She threw her hands up, "I need you to think realistically about your future. If my Grandma hadn't opened her big mouth to your mother what would you be doing right now? Where would you be?"

"I'd be livid that you kept this monstrous secret from me and I'd be unhappy, miserable, looking at some stupid centerpieces to make sure that we were still happy with them when really I couldn't care less. But instead I'm here… and as crazy and unbelievable as this is- I'm happy!" His hand looped into hers.

She ripped it away, "I need some time. I can't deal with you right now- with this. You can stay here tonight! On the house! But right now, I just can't…" She looped her bag around her shoulder whispering repeatedly, "I'm sorry…."

The blonde frowned. This is not how he imagined their reunion and honestly, he had imagined it a lot. She would flash her bright blue eyes to his and they would wander into the sunset, hop in his limo, drive who knows where and just live how they always should have. He would always resent the late start but would appreciate the opportunity it gave them both to grow. The baby in the picture was just an added bonus to the situation!

Logan had always had a rough relationship with his parents and he found it hard to picture himself with a kid at all. He was barely sure how to act around them, confused on the jokes they told and what happened when the nanny went home but as soon as he heard the news all fear vanished and he was elated. This was the piece of home he had been searching for.


	8. blue velvet

The phone rang. She sent it to voicemail.

It was Jess, in his perfectly coiffed haired glory, checking in on how the rest of her days have been going since he rolled out of bed that morning after. She had looked perfect just laying with hair flopped in her face and a makeup-less complexion. He had sat and watched her for as long as he possibly could before she eventually woke and immediately asked for coffee.

He happily obliged adding a piece of toast and a goodbye kiss in the mix. She looked sad to see him go. He felt truly unworthy and vowed to start looking for apartments that were a lot closer to Stars Hallow then he had ever imagined he would live. Suddenly he was seeing himself in a house of his own, sitting through town meetings and forcing (t)his kid to be a bulb in some stupid dance recital.

He tried again.

She sent him to voicemail again.

She felt awful, stomach turning and twisting with anxiety and the constant fear that she would end up with nobody and nothing through this process.

Jess wasn't exactly Mr. Reliable and Logan literally had a soon-to-be wife. She wondered if she should have taken her mom up on the offer to camp out in her childhood bedroom until further notice and left the boys out of it entirely.

A knock startled her from her spot on the couch and she walked to the door. The small hole in the door revealed a mess of blonde wisps and a bouquet of flowers. If it wasn't for the cup of coffee he was holding in his other hand she probably would have walked the other direction.

"You can't just run away from me!" He stated from his spot in the doorway. She extended her arm to grab the cup of dark roast but he ripped it away, stalling her from the goods, "Can I come in?"

"How did you get my address?" She pointed to the spot on the couch where he could sit and reluctantly took the gifts he brought. She waited for him to judge the depth of the couch cushion or the lack of picture hanging skills that she possessed but instead he just stared at her. He seemed fascinated and intrigued, quiet, mysterious even. Although they had been in constant communication throughout the years it was different. Who was the once the guy she confided in regarding anything was now just a guy she had a casual catch up lunch and fuck with.

He interrupted her reminiscing, "Your Mom told me! I went to see her. Assumed she hadn't moved since the last time I was here!"

"You assumed right…" Rory sat in the chair across from his spot and shifted nervously.

He seemed equally as uncomfortable which was surprising for her. He usually possessed such confidence, "I have something for you. Well, two things…" He dug in his coat pocket and revealed a petite, cushion-cut ring in gold. She crinkled her nose, "This is the ring I gave to Odette when we got engaged. I took it back before I came to see you." He pulled out a blue velvet box next, "And this is the ring I proposed to you with years ago. Same exact ring, same exact box."

"Are you asking-," She opened the box to reveal the same magnificent diamond she had turned down a decade prior, "Logan, no."

"I'm not asking you to marry me!" He said this with a chuckle of embarrassment, probably remembering the previous rejection, "I'm asking you to hold onto it and try to work towards it. With me…"

A tickle formed in her throat as she thought about the voicemail from Jess, the things they discussed regarding timing, soul mates, and similarities. They had finally got it right.

But maybe this was also the time she was supposed to finally get it right with Logan.

Her hand rested on her stomach and with an undeniable force she felt movement, "It's kicking! Oh my god Logan!" She lunged to him, forcing his hand. She had never seen him so shocked and so silent. The man with a plan was utterly speechless.

"That's amazing!" He had a hard time letting go even after the kicking had subsided. They sat in stunned silence, him staring at her and her staring at the ring. He could feel the cranks creating a pro and con list and he wondered what cons she had regarding them or this or him.

She opened the box and deliberately slipped it on her right hand. Even after all of these years it fit like a glove, "I'm not saying yes but I'm saying I'll work towards it…"

"Ace…" His eyebrow raised, "No take backs!"

She nodded, "No take backs… I mean it… And for the mean time…" Her hands crossed together hesitantly, unsure of if she could touch such a beautiful piece of jewelry, "Maybe you could move in here… Just in case you know kicking or I need a ride to the hospital or-,"

"You need coffee or your feet rubbed or you need to wake somebody to talk about some book at two in the morning?" His body leaned in towards her and his lips met her forehead, sweetly. It felt like old times. Exciting, relaxing- it felt right.

The one thing that didn't sit right was calling Jess. He would have to understand. Hopefully.

"Do you have bags or anything?" She wondered how he managed a trip across the country wearing cashmere.

He nodded, "In the car… I'll grab them in a second!"

"Go, grab them!" She ushered him out, "I'll clear a spot in the drawer for you." She needed more time than a quick run downstairs, "Could you also run to the store and maybe grab me some ice cream! Cravings!" Truly the thought of food at all made her want to throw up but she needed to make the call now or she may never do it.

"Of course! I'll be back shortly!" He paused, hands wrapping her cheeks before laying a kiss on her lips which she gladly welcomed with only the smallest tinge of guilt.

She watched him stroll through town, looking like he was a local resident of the small town. Maybe he'd fit in after all. She grabbed her phone and listed to the voicemail. The man of few words had pep in his voice, even mentioned an upcoming movie they could go to if she wanted to meet him half way. A sad sigh escaped her mouth as she dialed back.

This wasn't going to be pretty.


	9. pick up the phone

**quick note: before you get started on this chapter i just wanted to address two things. **

**1\. Jess fans- the story isn't over yet.  
2\. The end of this chapter isn't exactly graphic per say but, read cautiously if pregnancy or changes regarding it make you uncomfortable.**

**as always, thanks so much for reading and for your kind words. appreciate everyone who has clicked on and continued on so far! **

**curious, how many of you are OG Gilmore Girl fans? I actually didn't start watching until I was in college (approximately three years ago) but have already rewatched the series including AYITL four times! It's my go to feel good show. :) **

* * *

"Hey! Glad you called… I was thinking about heading into Stars Hallow tonight and just working remotely if you want me too…"

This was really how he was going to answer the phone. He really knew how to pull the heart strings of a pregnant lady!

"Jess, I have something I need to say…" She cut to the chase, trying to be ruthless at least for the moment, "And I need you to just listen and try to understand!"

"What are you going to say?" He was all knowing even when he was miles away. She could sense in his tone that he knew exactly what was coming.

"Logan came to visit me. He broke up with his fiancé and-,"

"And you're back together with him?" He was angry. So, so angry. She could sense the tension, angry that he was so damn confrontational. Why couldn't he be a normal person who just agreed and then bitched to his friends in private?

She signed audibly, "It's his baby Jess. I can't just dismiss that fact!"

"Yeah that he didn't even know about! How did he even find out?" She wondered if he cared about the answer or just wanted to ask questions to ask questions.

She grumbled, "My grandma ran into his mom at a function. Jess I am so, so sor-,"

"Don't be sorry! I get it. But Rory?" He was surprisingly calm in the moment, "Don't call me again. Ever. I'll avoid family Christmas at your place, I'll avoid the two of you. You're free of me. For good."

"Jess! You're the one who wanted me to contact him and tell him! What did you think would happen?" The Yale fight song played in the back of her head as she pushed back at his anger even though she knew that she was the one in the wrong.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "I didn't think you'd go right back to him. You can be a father without being in a relationship with the mother!" He remembered his own dysfunctional family and thought about how Luke had managed to successfully co-parent his daughter after not knowing her for years. He imagined that's how this situation would have unfolded. Clearly, he was wrong and he should have known that. Rory was always indecisive over men, over him especially. She had juggled her feelings between Dean and him for years always waffling back and forth. Maybe it was that she was too nice to hurt anyone's feelings up front, instead she'd end up leading on all parties until the absolute last moment. Maybe she was just too optimistic that things would work out if she just let the chips fall naturally. Whatever it was, it really fucking sucked.

"Jess I don't want my kid to grow up seeing their Dad just on Christmas!" She recounted her own childhood with a Dad who loved her but was the firm definition of flakey and unavailable especially during the pivotal years. Despite being happy with just her mom, she had nothing but fond memories of times that the three of them shared together. It made car rides, dinners, and even trips to the hospital better when they were a unit.

He understood that. He really did. His own father hadn't exactly won any awards for outstanding service in that department- maybe that's why Jess felt so oddly betrayed by her taking away a baby that wasn't even his. Maybe this wasn't even about Rory but instead about his want to have his own family and get the whole family ties thing right. He sighed, "Rory I get it but you have to get where I'm coming from when I say that I cannot be in your life then." He was stern and firm, angry but okay.

"Jess that's not what I want!" She felt herself getting emotional, "I still love you and-,"

His sharp inhale shook half the state, "Don't do it. Don't say that."

"You've been in my life for so long. Longer than Logan and I can't imagine being without you…." A few tears rolled down her cheeks, staining the surface in front of her, "I still want to be friends!" Jess and her were connected through books, and through life lessons. They had both went through some hard ones together. They were like these two matching pieces that sometimes lost sight of each other but always came back and formed the most mismatched yet perfect union. Imagining a life without Jess was the worst outcome imaginable in this situation.

"I can't be your friend Rory! I've never been able to be just your friend. You know that."

They paused, silence pulsing through the main line as they tried to find the words that would connect them in any way possible.

"Goodbye Rory." Jess couldn't stand to be on the phone for another minute longer. He wondered if Logan was there, at the apartment, moving out the furniture _he_ had helped Rory pick out and put together. If he was looking at the ultrasound picture that _he_ saw in person.

"Bye Jess…." She set the phone down on the table next to her, releasing full inconsolable sobs that were laced with heartache and hormones. She wasn't sure if Logan was right. She wasn't sure if Jess was right. She wasn't sure if anything happening at this moment was right. The universe had given her some hard hands but this one was the worst yet.

She glanced at the window to see Logan chatting with someone outside. He would be the type to run into somebody and immediately befriend them. He was charming like that and even got more so with age. Back when they were dating she would have smiled at the thought of him enjoying Stars Hallow but seeing him here with a grocery bag, imagining him chatting with Taylor- it felt weirdly wrong,

Maybe it was the Italian leather loafers that he was wearing or maybe it was the fact that this had been her world for so long. Her grandmother always hated the separate world talks but it was the harsh reality of growing up in the SH.

She stood up to unlock the door for him, her eyes lingering back at her phone. Hoping it would go off with a call from Jess or her mom or anybody who could make her feel better at this moment.

Something else caught her attention besides a loud ringing or a lit-up screen.

The color red? On white? What had she been eating?  
Nothing.  
Was it blood?  
Oh god.  
It was blood.

She touched her growing stomach in a panic. People always said that motherly instincts would kick in but in the moment, all she could think was that she wanted her own mommy. She crawled to the bathroom unsure if the cramps in her abdomen were from anxiety or from something worse.

She noted the drops that lingered behind her. They weren't large, only about the size of a dime. She hadn't got to that chapter in her pregnancy books yet. Maybe that was large when it came to this. She didn't have her phone on her and she wasn't sure she wanted to crawl back to get it but she desperately needed to talk to somebody. Her ears perked at the sound of the door clicking.

"Logan!" Her voice cracked, shaking the walls of the house.

"Ace!" He called back, "You okay?" He could feel the tone, his own eyes noting the spots lining the floor until he found her sideways on the bathroom floor. He jumped into action, a regular EMT in a tie, "Did it just start?" His hand lingered on her stomach, pressing, feeling for a movement.

She tried to hide the convulsions running through her body but he steadied her with his arms, lifting, and helping her up, "Let's go for a little ride to the hospital, huh? Just to make sure!" He smiled without flashing his pearly whites. A signature look for him. He was so calm. How was he so calm?

She squeezed his hand, "I need to call my mom."


	10. white coat

Her heel clicked against the table nervously. She was taking in the energy of the room, the silence of the nurse who grabbed her blood pressure, the doctor who made grunting noises at every scan and beep that the machines made, the agonizing wait to hear the result.

Logan sat in silence in the corner, he occasionally declined an incoming call, making pleasantries with everyone who came and left. How was he handsome even in the fluorescent lights? Sure, the crow's feet in the corner of his eyes and the crinkle in the center of his forehead was more prominent than it once it had been but if anything, that made him all the more attractive.

His phone went off again.

"You can get that!" She laid back, watching what she assumed was a heart rate monitor pump.

He shrugged, "I don't need too!" Each decline was welcomed with an immediate returned ring.

"Who is it?" She didn't want to pry but her hormones pumped curiosity like oxygen.

His lips pursed tightly before he let out a dramatic sigh, "Don't worry about it!"

She twitched uncomfortably, "Odette?" She was afraid the pang of jealousy would never subside.

"Mitchum Huntzberger actually…." He held it up to reveal a flashing picture of his father before hitting the red phone to send him to voicemail.

"Your dad?" Rory seemed shocked.

"Did you expect him to just let me leave London, break off a wedding, and be completely fine with it?" His low chuckle reminded her of all the shit Mitchum had done over the years that they would laugh off despite it causing great internal distress.

Another buzz and then a boom, "Logan! Your phone works, doesn't it?" As if she was living in a dream, the pillar in a wool coat strolled into her hospital room in an undeniable rage.

"Dad I'm in the middle of something!" He motioned to the brunette across the way, her hospital gown making her feel very underdressed and exposed.

"I can see that. What exactly is this?" He refused to make eye contact with Rory who he had shared his differences with throughout the past decade.

"You didn't tell him!" She exclaimed, "Oh my god!" The heart rate monitor surged causing Logan to stand in a panic.

"Dad! You need to leave!" He ushered his father out the door but Mitchum's refusal was stemmed by his lack of knowledge of what was happening.

"Not until you tell me what is going on!" His demanding voice was enough to call every doctor and nurse in the joint but it wasn't enough to get Logan to cave.

"It's none of your business!" The younger blonde could be so stubborn, "This is between Rory and I!"

"You're damn right it's my business when it effects my business!" His finger pointing skills surely had grown. She swore that if he thought about it hard enough he could cut his kid's throat with just the lightest touch.

"Well maybe you shouldn't-,"

"STOP!" Rory yelled, startling the both of them, "I'm pregnant! Or maybe I am! We don't really know what's happening that's why we're here. Logan is here because low and behold it's his baby! Yup, that's right when you ran into us at the restaurant we weren't just catching up we were having sex. Lots of sex! Lots of crazy friends with benefits sex!" Her cheeks flushed red, embarrassed at her outburst, "So if you could leave the two of us be for the time being that would be great!"

Mitchum cringed at the idea of his son impregnating the one who got away. Had he not learned simple birth control methods? It wasn't that hard to keep your dick attached to one woman! A huge plus if that woman is the one you were set to marry.

"Please Dad…. We can talk about this later!" Logan's eyes moved his father to the hallway, "I will call you!" It was a loose promise, one that was often broken.

His father grabbed his arm and pulled his son close, "Boy or girl?"

"What?" The blonde stammered.

"Is this child a boy or girl?" Logan swore his father's eyes were sparkling at the thought of a new grandchild.

"We don't know yet! We don't even know if we have a baby anymore…." For the first time since he walked in on Rory on the bathroom floor he was able to address that thought. Although he had known for mere days he felt this undeniable connection to that little bean. Mitchum felt it too.

"You do. I'm sure of it!" For a second his father lapsed into a new person but was quick to snap back, "I expect a phone call as soon as you get the news so that we can discuss how to go about this split. It's a PR nightmare."

"Of course, Dad, I will!" He watched his father float through the bleak hallways, surprised, amazed, and confused all at once. How was one person capable of so many emotions in such a short span of time?

"Logan!" Was his voice just going to bounce all along the hospital walls today. He turned on his toes to reveal Lorelai Gilmore in her full glory. Her quirky nature was apparent in the way that she wore a colorful knit scarf and neon green beanie. She hugged him like they hadn't missed a beat and he was grateful that despite any difference they may have felt at any point, it disappeared in this moment.

"Lorelai!" He pulled back to get a better look at her, "Thank you for coming. Rory is going to be so glad you're here!" He directed her to the room. Despite the confidence he exuded he was becoming more overwhelmed with the frequent visitors wanting his own moment to catch his breath and get a grip on what was happening.

"Mom!" Rory attempted to leave her spot on the cold table despite being tangled in cords.

"Are you okay?" Her mother rushed her, embracing the petite figure who collapsed from exhaustion and adrenaline in her arms.

Rory was cried out after everything that happened but she welcomed her mother's grip wishing that she was fifteen and making measly mistakes that would quickly get washed under the rug instead of sitting (basically) naked and afraid in a hospital room.

"What did the doctor say?" With one arm wrapped around her daughter's face, Lorelai swept the matted hair away from her baby blues, "Anything yet? Do I need to find a doctor? DOCTOR!"

Rory shushed her mother with a light chuckle, "They'll be in any second mom!"

"Okay well climb back up!" She assisted with situating Rory, making sure each IV was organized and reading properly and that she was warm enough and comfortable, "Did I run into Mitchum or am I hallucinating?"

"Nope! That was him!" Logan piped up from the spot he had sat back down in.

"Oh no…" Lorelai glanced back and forth between the two of them, "I feel like I should say something but I've never really been through this specific situation before!" She plopped down next to Logan and took his hand in hers, "You okay, kid?"

He melted in the way she called him a kid. He wished he was a kid, jumping off unsound structures and flying private jets across the country. It was easier than business practices, arranged marriages, and all of the other drama that had followed him through adulthood. He nodded knowing that she could sense his nerves, "We're going to be okay!"

"Baby H doesn't have a choice…" Rory's hand traced her stomach. She wasn't religious but she was praying for a miracle.

"Rory Gilmore?" A chart wielding physician stared at the crowd of three, "Another visitor?"

"I'm Lorelai! I'm the mom! Or the grandma? Am I going to be a grandma doc?!" She bombarded him with questions.

"Well the good news is. You are going to be a grandma!"

Rory's hand flew to her mouth as a singular sob escaped. Logan lurched, his arms wrapping her and rocking her figure back and forth. She nuzzled to his chest, so grateful to share a positive moment instead of one filled with fear and panic.

The Doctor sat across from the expecting parents, making sure to tilt to include Lorelai, "Now I'm going to tell you something that might be unexpected…"

If Logan had squeezed Rory's hand harder she would have needed a cast to repair the bones he broke.

"Did you know that there are actually two grandchildren forming in there?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Rory laughed out loud, "But twins don't run in our family! And I have a friend that had twins so I don't think that I can have them…"

"You don't think you can have them because your friend already did?" The doctor raised an eyebrow.

Logan smiled sheepishly, "I should mention that twins do run in my family…."

Lorelai cackled in the chair, her body doubling over in a fit of laughter.

"Boys, girls? Do we know yet?" Logan had a wicked smirk on his face, bursting at the seams with excitement over the news.

"You sure you want to know?" The doctor pulled up a few ultrasound images on the screen.

"YES!" Logan and Lorelai chimed in unison.

Rory sat in shock, her mouth agape, blue eyes wide and focused on the floor. She looked pale, more so than usual. She was hearing the words but not really registering what he was saying. She wondered if Lane had felt the same way when she had found out she was having twins.

"Well this little one right here…." The doctor pointed to the first blob on the screen, "Is a boy and this one down here… is a girl!"

"One of each!" Logan practically jumped for joy, "Ace this is fantastic!" His hands laced the sides of her face and pulled her into him but she didn't return the affection, "Ace? You okay?"

She shook her head, "This isn't happening!" She began pulling the cords from her arms, and reaching for her clothes on the chair, "I'm not… this isn't… NOPE!" She slid her sweater over the hospital gown.

"Honey you don't really have a choice!" Lorelai's voice of reason piped in.

"I'm NOT doing it!" Rory's fists clenched, pulsing in and out with her staggered breathing.

"I'll give you a minute…" The doctor passed the pictures of the twins to Logan with an all-knowing smile as if to say _good luck with that. _


	11. ring ring

"Twins!" Logan scraped the cut-up steak across his plate, swirling it with the roasted vegetables. He watched curiously as his mom twitched uncomfortably, his father pondered the news, and his sister who had a baby of her own on the way jumped for literal joy.

"Logan! This is amazing!" Honor roped her arms around her brother's shoulders. He felt the true joy radiating from her, something that could not be said about the other side of the table.

"Mom?" Eyes shifted to Shira who was in the gaining stage of her weight journey. The stress of the engagement being called off, the impregnation of a Gilmore, and her only son moving back to the states was too much for her fragile trophy wife life to handle.

"Yes, it's wonderful news!" Her head tilted, a fake smile cutting the tension, "Isn't that amazing Mitchum?"

"You know my brothers were twins!" Mitchum was the only one who could chew through the silence. He bit into a piece of steak accompanied by a mushroom and made sure to chomp every bite with full force, "Runs in the family!"

"I did know that! Uncle Matt and Uncle Mike!" Logan was impressed at the calm that had overtaken his father in his old age. He lacked that same feisty and cut-throat attitude that had pulled Logan from meetings, from bedrooms, and from yachts stuck in the ocean.

"We should send them a Christmas card this year? How come we never send them a card?" He was rambling.

"I'll add them to the list dear…." Shira had hardly touched the food in front of her, no doubt dying for a cigarette to ease the anxiety she felt.

"It's a girl and a boy though! Ours, are." He felt weird saying ours. His. Half of him.

Mitchum set his fork down and pushed the plate to the middle of the table, "This is cause for celebration! This is a huge moment. This is the next heir to the empire after you!" He sighed, "Logan I never thought you'd do it."

"We just wish you would have done it with Odette!" His wife's eyes glared across the table to which he paid no mind.

"I think it's great! Rory's a Yale graduate, she's not a dull tack by any means." Shira seethed that he was disagreeing with her, "You have to get engaged though, we can't have this scandal out. I can already imagine the playboy rumors that are floating. I have our team working on it but they can only do so much…."

"Prince Harry drank his weight throughout college and people love him!" Honor piped in.

"True!" Logan contemplated, "What if we spin it as an arranged marriage and Rory was my real marriage all along?"

"You're getting married?" He swore he saw the devil come out of this mother's eyes.

"Of course, they are!" Mitchum pushed her judgement aside, "You are getting married, right?"

"I asked!"

"And she said?" Honor wondered what exactly he was leading up too.

"We decided we didn't want to jump right into it but we're working towards it!" Logan rolled his eyes at his family's sudden interest in his life.

"Do you have a house?" Mitchum ushered one of the servers over, motioning to his water glass, "I have the perfect place in Hartford, just bought it at a steal! Needs some work but nothing a little money and a contractor can't fix long before those babies get here. Rory can do some freelance writing for our site if she wants? I remember how bored your mom got on maternity leave!"

"I think she'd like that!" Logan couldn't help but smile at his father's excitement to be a grandfather. Despite Honor had a son of her own, he wasn't an heir, he wasn't in line to run a billion-dollar empire. The blonde startled as his phone begin to vibrate. He wasn't expecting any calls, at least not this late at night. He excused himself on the premise of work, something he had watched his father do on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then some. "This is Logan…"

"Logan?" The voice on the other end questioned back. The voice sounded oddly familiar like he had heard it once before but couldn't pinpoint where.

"Yes, that's me…." He paced through the foyer, "What can I help you with?"

"You love her?"

"Excuse me, what?" His nose crinkled in confusion as he tried to decipher the man blaring through the speaker.

"I'm willing to give her everything! Stimulating conversation, an ability to write and work as much or as little as she pleases, a constant stable presence- can you do that for her?"

Logan paused at the accusation, "Who is this? And don't lie because I can just pay somebody to find out in a matter of minutes!" Wow was he turning into his father or what…

"It's Jess. Jess Mariano! We met at that pub years ago, remember?" The dark-haired dare devil remembered that night. Logan had been a first-class douche.

The blonde cracked his signature smirk, making eye contact with the latest security cameras that had been installed since the last time he was home, "I remember you!" It was condescending the way he addressed it, like he remembered the server at his favorite restaurant or the guy who walked down the street every day to catch the bus, "I don't really know what you're getting at Jess but me and Rory are together. We're getting married- we're having twins!"

"Yeah and who do you think was at the ultrasound appointment with her? Who put together the dresser in her bedroom? Why did you come back anyways?" Jess already knew his answer. He was just frustrated that after pushing her and pushing her to tell the father this was the outcome. He hadn't thought that far ahead, "Did you say twins and married?"

"Yeah! We're in the process of setting a date- sometime after OUR son and daughter are born. We'll be sure to send you an invite though?"

Jess seethed on the other line, "When you fail at being a dad or being a responsible adult… I'm going to be there for her! Her and I were meant to be-,"

"Jack, was it?" Logan knew his name he just refused to let it roll off his tongue, "I'm going to have to let you go but, that dresser you put together was great! It looks top notch in our bedroom! We'll have to call you again if we have a few more jobs!"

"You're a jackass…"

"And you aren't exactly docile and polite…." Logan clicked the phone shut before the man on the other line could continue arguing, "You're a jack ass!" He mumbled it under his breath, defending himself two seconds to late. He dialed Rory hoping she hadn't passed out on the couch yet, "Are you still talking to him?"

She was groggy, clearly unhappy to be woken up, "What? Who?"

"Jess! Jess Mariano?" Logan rolled his eyes that she would ask that, she knew damn well who he was talking about.

"What do you mean and am I still talking to him- is this college?"

"Well he called me acting all threatening! Acting like I can't do this! You don't think that, do you?"

Did she sense panic in his voice? Did he really think that she would have agreed to these terms if she didn't think so?

"Rory?"

She started chuckling, "Do you really think, that I think that? Answer wisely…."

"Because I can be! I can be the best damn husband and father and provider!" He was getting defensive, the paces that he was taking expanding and collapsing in various degrees, "I don't even know where he gets off trying to act like he's a part of this…."

"Logan, he's technically family?" She reminded him, quick to retract her words, "But we agreed to avoid combined holiday's so I probably will never see him again!"

"You promise?" He was acting like a child.

"Promise!" She agreed, "Now when are you coming home?"

"Whenever my mother has worn herself out from glaring at me across the table…."

"That bad, huh?" She wondered how Shira could hate her so many years later. Was she that petty?

"Honor is ecstatic though! And my dad…. Well… he wants to give us a house!" He treaded lightly knowing that Rory didn't just accept a handout, especially one that came in the form of a house from Mitchum Huntzberger.

"Seriously? A house?" She sounded as stunned as she felt, "That's incredible!"

"So, that's a yes?" Logan smiled from ear to ear, "Are you saying what I think you're saying Ace?"

"Yeah I'm saying it!"

"A Jess-Less house…." He added, circling back to the main reason he called.

"If that's what you need then yes, a Jess-Less house!" She felt a pang in her chest at that phrasing. It felt like a strange repeat of her past, "Tell him thank you for me?"

"I will Ace…" Logan clicked off, gliding back to the dining room, "Dad?"

"Hmm?" Mitchum grumbled through a mouthful of dessert.

"We'd be extremely grateful for the house and I'll pay you for it- cash or check?" Logan whipped out his checkbook.

"Son!" Mitchum pushed the hands of his younger self down and smiled for the first time in years, "It's a gift. To the happy couple!" He reached for the glass of wine to his right, "To the happy couple!"

Honor raised her glass as high as she could, the widest smile engulfing her face. Shira was more reluctant but she went ahead with the façade anyways, scheming up ways to rid of this nonsense that was unfolding in front of her.


	12. wallpaper

**quick note: sorry for the delay in getting a new chapter out! i know it's been awhile. i should be back to semi-regular postings until the story is finished. thanks for sticking with me!**

* * *

"This is the house?" Rory's eyes darted to the various elements that were on the interior and exterior of the expansive two-story home.

It was historic, like most homes in Hartford, adorned with classic brick elements, cobblestone pathways, and an abundance of greenery. The couple who had left the place had left to go to a nursing home. It was evident by the floral wallpaper rimming each room and the salmon colored master suite that it hadn't been updated since they moved in forty years ago. Probably why Mitchum managed to get it at a steal.

Rory had spent countless nights tossing and turning over the decision of accepting the home. She desperately wanted the rift that had existed between her and Mitchum to dissipate but she also felt strangely uncomfortable taking a gift of this size and using it as a reason to change her feelings on him. From what Logan had said he was really trying to change which was weird considering Shira still had the same feelings.

The boy who had turned into a man in front of her eyes extended a hand to drag her indoors. A decorator and contractor were waiting for them with books of ideas and quotes. The landscaper would be by later that afternoon so it was important to get a jump on things, "Shall we?"

She nodded, reluctant to enter the door as though by doing so she was stuck. Her ever growing stomach caused her to waddle slightly and she felt like an alien in her own skin, "Holy cow!" She reacted at the giant foyer which had swatches of paint and tile samples lying all over.

Logan shut his eyes, "This is bringing back so many flashbacks!" He was referring to the millions of times his mother had redone their own home. He didn't share her love for French lamps and Moroccan textiles.

"This is weird, right?" She flipped through samples without really registering them, "It's like the most elaborate baby shower gift in the world!"

"He just wants to be involved!" Logan batted her hand away and led her into the formal dining room where they were met by the people who would transform this house to a home.

He just wants to be involved. Mitchum wasn't the just be involved type. He was controlling and arrogant and Rory had heard stories of how he acted with his first grandson, Honor's son. She knew that the difference was with Logan's offspring versus the offspring of his daughter but still! Logan was the heir to the fortune and he didn't exactly have a warm and fuzzy childhood.

"Welcome home you two!" The decorator was obnoxiously animated, her nails as long as the entire length of Rory's finger. She pushed books around them, blueprints of the home, and multiple swatches and samples in giant binders.

Rory felt the urge to collapse, dizzy at the process of converting an entire home into a cohesive and calming environment. Logan noted this, "You okay Ace?"

She squeezed his hand, "Just overwhelmed at all these choices!"

The decorator cackled, "Honey, you can be as involved or as uninvolved as you want!"

Rory pondered her apartment on Peach street and how she had picked out her items carefully. That space had been about the size of the formal dining room and she had a hard time. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with something the size of twenty peach street apartments.

"Maybe as uninvolved as possible is best! We can't be dealing with a lot of stress right now…" Logan reached for her stomach, gently pressing to verify that each baby still reacted to his presence.

She felt a small kick and smiled at the new life, "I think Logan Jr. is going to be quite the soccer player!"

He laughed, "We're not naming him that!" It was amazing that the two could share such an intimate moment even when surrounded by strangers, "Sorry! Back to design!"

"You two are so sweet!" The decorator cooed, flipping the book to what they presumed was another house built for a similarly aged couple, "How about you tell me what you like and don't like and we'll go from there?"

They nodded in agreement, checking yes and no to neutrals and nautical themed bathrooms. Just when they felt like they were getting to the last of the samples Logan's phone went off. That familiar ring of despair that meant it was work.

"I have to take this!" Logan nodded, excusing himself and heading for the door, "This is Logan!"

He was so cordial, so efficient. Rory eavesdropped, her curiosity getting the best of her, always. Logan had just been so hushed about the quick break in the engagement and the abrupt move back to Stars Hallow to be with her. He was hardly in an office and he hadn't been back to London since the ordeal. She wondered how they were surviving without him.

They weren't.

He had a look of panic on his face as he came back to the room, "I have to take a flight out of here immediately! They're collapsing without me!" His usual tan skin was white, "I don't know how long this is going to take to straighten out, did you want to come with? I can call our doctor! I don't want you staying alone in that apartment after what happened last time…"

She agreed, not exactly wanting to be alone for these pivotal moments in the growth period but knowing damn well that her doctor would not recommend international travel, "I can stay with my Mom and Luke!"

"I would feel better if you let me drive you there at least?" Logan sighed, staring at the two bodies who had set aside a whole day to start on this beast of a home.

"Ye- yeah!" She stood, wobbling as she rose from the table, "Can I-," She reached down for the book.

"Yes, and you have our cards?" The woman with the nails piped in, passing off another copy as well as a few binders, "Take it all and give me a call and we can set this into motion!"

"We trust you with our lives!" Logan grinned, grabbing the binders before Rory had a chance too, "Come on Ace…" He placed a hand on her back to keep her upright as they walked back out to the car.

"I feel like I've been hit by a bus and we barely spent two hours there!" She climbed into the passenger seat flipping through the book that she had seen at least ten times now, "What do you think? What do you want?"

"Whatever you want!" Logan was white knuckle driving his way through the streets back to Stars Hallow.

"Is this something the matter?" Rory inquired, "That call was very abrupt!"

"It's fine!" He lied.

"Logan, you'd tell me?"

"I'm just nervous about leaving you!" He let out a breathy sigh, "I don't want anything to happen while I'm away. And so far, away!"

She laughed, "Don't worry about me!"

He turned to stare at her, "What do you mean don't worry about you? It's not just you! It's you and Lorelai the third plus Logan Jr! I worry about you all constantly…" His hand reached over and squeezed her thigh, reminding her that he was there.

"I think we're actually on Lorelai the fourth! My grandfather's mom was also named Lorelai!"

"Well in that case I don't know if we can name her that anymore!"

"You'll fly safe?" She changed the subject.

"You'll keep me updated on any changes?" He challenged her.

"Ope! They grew a fingernail and wait… was that a strand of hair?" She winked at him, "You don't know how long you'll be gone?"

"Sooner than later I hope… This street?" He was finally getting the hang of Stars Hallow.

"You got it!" She noted the strange car in the driveway. It reminded her of what Jess drove.

Shit. It was Jess.


	13. alien invasion

"You going to be okay if I don't come in?" Logan turned, "My jet is leaving in thirty whether I'm on it or not!"

He hadn't noticed. Luckily.

She shook her head quickly praying that Jess didn't come out of the front door in that moment, "Safe travels, okay? Call me as soon as you land!"

He leaned in for a kiss, "I'll call you every step of the way, okay? I love you Ace!"

She wasn't sure if she was there.

Of course, she loved him. She loved him with her entire being and always had but it was hard to say the words out loud so she answered with nothing more than a nod and they both accepted it.

He made sure that she made it through the front door okay before peeling out the driveway.

"Mom!" Rory called from the doorway, leaning on a bench that had conveniently been placed there to make sure she didn't fall over from the weight of her stomach.

"What are you doing here?" Lorelai waltzed in, a whisk in hand and a forehead covered in flour, "I'm making pancakes!"

"Why isn't Luke making the pancakes? You can't make pancakes!" Rory followed her mother back to the kitchen.

"For your information Luke has been teaching me!" She revealed the mess, "I messed up the first two batters but I have a good feeling about this one…"

Rory picked up the boxed pancake mix, "How did you mess that up?"

"Water to pancake mix ratio, duh!" She ripped the box away, "What are you doing here anyways?"

"Is that…"

"Jess' car? Yes!" Lorelai could read her mind, "Him and Luke are out in the garage looking at who knows what! They're expecting pancakes when they come back…"

That was code and Rory took the bait. She took over the pancake mix and shakily poured some batter on the over buttered grill, "Logan had to leave on business and he didn't want me in the apartment alone- cool if I crash here for a few days?"

The older brunette collapsed in a chair, "Of course it's cool! Your old bedroom is the same as it always was!" She grinned cheekily, "So, you want to say hi to Jess?"

"I'll wait till he comes in!" Rory gulped, suddenly aware of what she was wearing and doing.

Lorelai picked at the food sitting on the table which consisted of a half ate pop-tart and some popcorn, "Fine! Suit yourself!" A cheeky smile crossed her face, "How are Leopold and Loeb? Do you remember that dream I had where Luke talked to my stomach and he took the coffee and replaced it with decaf and I was pregnant with twins? Do you think I somehow passed along twins to you by manifesting them in my dream?"

The younger brunette poked at the pancake, testing for doneness in a completely incorrect manner, "I'm not sure the exact specifications behind the science of falling pregnant with twins but I have a feeling that the fact that it runs in Logan's family gives me better odds at it then some dream you had over a decade ago!"

"Well I'm still going to take credit!" She demanded, "I'm going to take credit for those pancakes too!"

Rory used the spatula to lift up a sad excuse for food, "You sure?"

She lifted a pop-tart, "We should stick to what we know!"

"What is that smell?" The familiar low-toned slur slipped through the back door. His typical leather jacket had been stripped to reveal a thermal shirt, stippled with sweat.

"That can't be food, can it?" Luke echoed, using the collar of his flannel shirt to cover his nose and mouth, "Remind me to never leave you alone with pancake batter! Rory!" He abruptly changed the subject.

She smiled at him from the table, "We tried our best!"

"Your best is pathetic!" Jess mimicked, sitting next to her without flinching, despite not having any idea that she was going to be there. He had come a long way from running away at Weston's, "So when did you get in?"

"When did you get in?" She shifted awkwardly.

"I asked you first!" He smiled shyly.

"Few minutes ago! I came. I failed at making pancakes. And now I'm famished!" She noted to Luke who was slinging mix and flipping cakes like nobody's business.

"We bow to the master!" Lorelai twisted her shoulders cheerily.

"I should probably head back actually! I don't need a mass of carbs weighing down my drive home…" Jess stood from the spot he had sat in for so briefly.

"No!" Luke demanded, "Stay for dinner!"

Lorelai seemed to agree to this command, her head nodding along, eyes swirling with the cup of coffee that had appeared in front of her, "Stay the night even!" Rory's leg tapped her mother's, under the table. The older brunette narrowed her eyes as though to ask _what's your problem_?

"Mom, help me up the stairs?" She needed to explain the opposition Logan had to her communication with Jess to explain why it was not possible for the both of them to stay here, in the same home, in close proximity to one another, sharing a meal.

"Imagine how you'll be in a few months from now!" Lorelai groaned, helping her daughter each step of the way, "Now what is this really about? Because I saw your walk your way in here earlier with minimal issues!"

Rory crossed her arms, eyes shifting about, "Well you know that Jess and I and now…."

"You and Logan, yes, the cycle of your life!" Lorelai sat on the bed listening through the door, "What about it?"

"Jess and Logan must have talked at some point because I don't know but Logan said he didn't want me around Jess!" She paced, staring out the window, wishing Logan would come back so they could pick out paint colors and backsplash, "If he knew that Jess was here he would flip out!"

"He can't flip out on you! You have your free pass right there?" Lorelai pointed at her daughters expanding stomach.

"I told him I wouldn't though!" She sighed, "I feel like I'm a liar! I'm living in this weird web of lies and Jess is down there acting like nothing has changed between the two of us like he didn't set up a dresser and that we didn't have a fleeting moment!"

"Well it was fleeting for a reason babe!" She pulled her daughter down next to her, sinking into the overstuffed duvet, "Plus with all of Logan's money you can buy like eight hundred new dressers that don't remind the two of you of Jess!"

"So not the point!" She fell back, head hitting the mound of pillows, "I'm just going to head over to Lane's for dinner and then by the time I get back he should hopefully be asleep, okay?"

"You sure?" Lorelai raised an eyebrow.

"She'll have that good twin advice for me! Plus, Logan will probably be gone for a while so you and I will have plenty of time…"

"Plenty of time to watch every season of Rupaul including All Stars?" She challenged, her blue eyes fierce in the sunlight.

"More than enough!" Rory nodded, sneaking out of the room and out the front door without saying a word to Luke or Jess as she headed into town.

She noted each house until she eventually arrived at the one that her best friend had claimed as her own permanent place in Stars Hallow. It was filled with love and fun and whimsy- everything that encased Lane and Zack. She wondered what kind of house Lane would have lived in had her and Dave stayed together. Would it have shared the same distressed rock and roll nature?

She opened the door and was instantly greeted by the two mischievous little boys who had stolen everyone's heart years ago. It was amazing the way they recognized Rory despite her absence.

"Where's your mom?" She asked.

The two pointed in unison and she wondered if her own twins would be so connected. Lane had the upper hand having two boys who had been attached at the hip since conception.

"Rory is that you?" Lane called out, "Kitchen!"

"Left or right?" She tried to sink through drum sticks and guitars that had magically appeared.

"Right- I mean left! Your left! No wait… Other way… You go left!" She called from a faraway room.

"Does this feel like we're back in high school at your mom's house?" Rory called out ending up in the kitchen where Lane sat, peeling cookie dough from a giant plastic tub and placing it on to worn out baking sheets, "What's that?"

Lane stared back, rolling her eyes, "Look at your future Rory! Isn't it a disaster!" The misshapen balls found their way to the oven, "Kwan has a bake sale and Steve- don't even get me started on Steve!" She wagged her finger, resembling Mrs. Kim more and more each day, "And this house! Although usually messy it is not usually THIS messy. This is from the decision they made to start playing an instrument and their father… I'm sorry… he-who-shall-not-be-named…"

"Harsh!" Rory piped in.

"He decided to buy every single guitar in all of Stars Hallow and the surrounding areas! Something about the guitar they're drawn too?" She rolled her eyes, "I'm drawn to store bought cookies but nope, couldn't have that!"

Rory picked at the cookie dough, "In essence they are store bought!"

Lane narrowed her eyes, black bangs trickling through her eyebrows creating an evil shadow on her face, "Don't you get started with me Gilmore!" She changed her tune quickly upon seeing her friend in her full glory, "The babies!" She recalled her own time being pregnant. It was miserable, uncomfortable, foreign, and very scary, "How are you feeling?"

Rory plopped down at the kitchen table, eyes darting to follow the boys who had bouncing off the walls since the minute she got it, "A little overwhelmed!"

Lane nodded, knowingly, "What's the deal with you and Logan?"

The brunette smiled at the thought of him, "He's in London right now. His dad bought us a house!"

"A house?" Her jaw practically dropped, "I thought he hated you!"

"He might hate me but he isn't allowed to hate the next heir to the Huntzberger thrown!" She gripped her stomach, feeling the smallest kick come from underneath her left ribcage, "Any twin advice?"

"Well considering you'll probably have a nanny and more than one bedroom I'm not sure how much assistance I can be!" To most her off handed comment about wealth would come off as petty and rude but no matter what Lane said she sounded like the most genuine soul on the planet.

"You think we'll need a nanny?" Rory hadn't even pondered the concept of paying other people to come watch her children

"If I would have had the money, I would have got two! One for days and one for nights! Is Logan going to work?" Lane stared at her empty coffee pot, rising to make a fresh pot for her visitor.

"Yes!" She piped in wondering if she should be looking into maids and nannies and more before the babies arrived.

"I have the photo albums you wanted!" She waited for the coffee pot to official begin its brew and sifted through a pile of books that had found their way to the top of the microwave, "This is every year we've had them so far! I think we're kind of stuck with them at this point…"

The brunette smiled at a picture of young Lane holding two children in her arms. She was a natural. She wondered if she would be the same way or if she would struggle, "Did you feel like you were carrying aliens?"

"Every day…" Lane filled a mug up, "It only gets worse as time goes on!"

"Reassuring!" Rory smiled through the pain.

She continued to sift through each year, impressed at the things they had done as a family, as a group of two, and a group of four and then some. They were a hallmark family even if they didn't want to be.

"I'm kind of terrified…" Rory shut the photo album, blue eyes filling with terror as she stared at her future.

Lane took her friends hand, "You got this!"

What her best friend tackled, she always conquered.


	14. couch cries

After gorging herself on cookies and takeout Rory stumbled back to her childhood home. It looked small in comparison to the monstrosity that her and Logan were going to call their own and she wondered how the two of them had ever gone on with such a minimal amount of space.

She grabbed the spare key from the turtle and unlocked the door as quietly as possible. A faint glow of what Rory could only assume was a laptop spilled in from the living room. She could make out that perfectly coiffed dark hair and dark eyes anywhere.

"What are you still doing up?" She couldn't pull herself to just sneak past him to her room.

He jumped, startled, deep in thought, "Just trying to get some work down!" He cracked the screen of his laptop down fearing she would read his most personal thoughts.

The two sat in silence for what felt like an hour but was barely a minute, "Are you working on another novel?" The brunette finally piped up, shifting in her spot, suddenly realizing how sore her feet were.

"Something like that…" He patted the spot next to him, "If you want to stay and talk you mine as well make yourself comfortable?"

She slipped her swollen feet out of the flats she had been wearing all day and proceeded to the opposing side of the couch. Her back hurt, her boobs hurt, her entire lower half of her body hurt and she forgot how good a couch could feel, "Thanks!" She added a nervous chuckle to the end.

"It's a series of short stories!" He piped in, making awkward conversation to replace the even more awkward silence, "About a wacky town filled with people who seem unreal yet somehow it's based on a true story! Strange, right?"

"Is the town name something like Bars Swallow?" She challenged

"Something like that…" His lips curled into a half smile, "So…"

"So…" She stood rapidly, knowing damn well talking to him would get her in trouble, "I should get to bed!"

He motioned towards his pillow and blanket, "I should as well!"

"Hey Jess?" She grabbed his arm, halting him from curling up and sleeping off the rejection, "I wish the timing would have worked out between us!"

That stung, "What do you mean?"

"I don't feel like we ever got a fair shot! When you were ready, I wasn't and when I was, you weren't…. Maybe in a different life?"

"Yeah, right… maybe in a different life but Rory?"

"Yeah?" She pondered if she should sit back down.

"I don't think he's meant for you in any life!" His genuine concern came out in his soft tone but it somehow still felt like a jab.

"You don't know him. Not like I do!" Her defense was up.

She was of course, correct. He had never had intimate relationships with Logan or been on a date or traveled across the country to hang out with him but he knew what he saw at face value and it wasn't likeable.

"As long as you're happy!" He backtracked, "As long as you're living your full potential!" He was worried that Rory was being held back. Held back by her past, by the fact that she had always let him call the shots, by the fact that she continually ran to him in any situation. He had watched her swoon and pine and turn into somebody unrecognizably timid when Logan was around.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She let a hand fall on her hip, "You think just because I'm having his babies that I'm not going to be living my full potential? I can be a great journalist and a great mother and a great wife!"

"Wife?" He stood up, eyes narrowed and brow furrowed, "So you guys are-,"

"Yes! I want to marry him. I really do." She had run over it a thousand times in her head, made a million pro and con lists but nothing made her surer than the sudden outburst in her childhood living room, "He's it Jess. Someday you'll find yours… It's not me!"

Jess was sure it was her, it was always her, "Don't send me an invite to the wedding…." He threw his things in his bag as quick as he could, not giving her any time to stop him, "Bye Rory…" He slammed the front door.

A hormonal sob kicked in, sending her into a fit, she fell to the couch. It was happiness for the marriage she realized she wanted, sadness over the fact that Jess as she knew him was gone, it was growing two people that she would have to raise from the ground up. She tried to quiet down, careful not to wake her mother or Luke but within a minute the older brunette was jumping down the stairs in bunny slippers.

"Was that the door?" Her eyes were hardly open until she saw her daughter trying to catch her breath, "Rory, are you okay?" She sprinted into action, plopping down on the couch next to her daughter and pulling her in close, "What's going on? Was that Jess who just-,"

"It's everything!" She halted, trying to catch her breath, thankful for her mother's arms keeping her steady, "Jess doesn't want to be friends, he doesn't want me in his life and Logan- I have to call Logan! I'm just overwhelmed!"

"Honey why don't you just relax for a second!" Lorelai tried to pull her back to the couch.

"Mom! I'm getting married! I'm going to marry Logan but I still want Jess to come and he said he doesn't want to and then he insisted that I'm not living my full potential but I want to marry Logan. I'm going to marry Logan and that's not going to stop me from doing everything else that I've always wanted to do! Why would he even imply that?" Her mouth was running a mile a minute and she was breaking into audible sobs in between each phrase. She looked like an absolute train wreck, reminiscent of her first mental breakdown that she had went through at Yale- it felt like a terrible déjà vu moment.

"Of course, you are!" She almost laughed, "Logan has always been it for you babe! And who said you aren't going to do everything you want! You always have!"

Rory's tears turned to a broken smile, "You think?"

"I know! And Jess… Jess has been in love with you since the first time he saw you but he'll move on and he'll find his own Logan… boy or girl, who knows, who cares but you can't feel guilty for not being his Logan! Does that metaphor make sense? I don't know I'm tired!" She pulled her daughter in closer, "I'm so happy you finally realized what I have known all along!" Her smugness was only stated out of humor, "And you're going to be the ultimate mother, journalist, wife, and whatever else you want to be! You'd be a terrible doctor though!"

"He told me not to send him an invite and then he just left!" She groaned, "You can't do that to a pregnant woman!"

"Wise words my dear! You catch on quick…"

"Why do you think I'd be a terrible doctor?"

"No proper medical training of course!" Lorelai smirked.

"Ah, very true!" Rory stood up, steadying her swollen limbs, "I'm going to-,"

Lorelai squeezed her daughters hand once more, "Sleep tight…"

The younger image of Lorelai waltzed to her childhood bedroom, accompanied with a plethora of nostalgia. She dug for her phone in her purse expecting a missed call or two from Logan but he was apparently busy. She didn't want to bother him but she wanted to talk and figure out next steps and move forward with this. She would wait until he arrived home.

To their home.


	15. finn

Rory's figure had returned. It was evident as she slipped into the white dress she had always dreamed of. It was odd, staring at herself in the mirror of a wedding chapel remembering all of the prior events she had attended as a guest of honor.

At Sookie's she had worn blue, at her grandparents she had rocked a suit with complete grace, and at Lane's she had helped with a million outfit changes in between ceremonies. Her memory of her soon to be sister-in-law's wasn't pleasant but it still came up as her image reflected back at her.

"Somebody wanted to say hi!" Lane cracked the door open, black bangs falling to the side, showcasing her face without glasses.

"My babies!" Rory pulled herself away from her past to enjoy her present, "Did you two have a good nap?" She lowered herself to the same height as the two waltzing figures. She couldn't believe that she had one year old's. How time had flown! "Thanks for watching them!" She looped an arm around the friend she had, had since childhood, "Were they the worst?"

"They were perfect angels!" Lane gave her an all-knowing smirk.

"As they always are!" Her tone dripped with sarcasm, "I like this color on you!" Rory pulled at the bridesmaid dress, suddenly very aware that she was about to stand up in front of half the town and officially declare her singleness over.

"You picked it!" Lane nudged.

"I think it's drab and it's washing me out!" Paris appeared from an adjoining room, tugging at the fabric, and pushing at her skin, "That's not a jab at you, it's a jab at me!" She groaned, "When did thirty something become the new fifty something!"

"Paris, you look beautiful!" Rory reassured her, "I picked out that color with you in mind!"

The blonde who had spent a majority of her adulthood with a short and choppy business cut had spent the last year growing it out for this particular moment. She wore it in loose waves, with highlights and lowlights that looked as expensive as they were. Even if the dress had washed her out, she still looked incredible.

"Can mother-of-the-bride come in?" Lorelai peeked her head in, tears starting to well, "Rory, you look…"

"You look!" Rory took a deep breath in holding back her own tears.

"Unbelievable!" Her mother's almost tears were recognized by the tots and they waltzed over to cheer her up, toothy smiles beaming.

"Nobody is crying!" Lane echoed, "Because if you cry and then you cry then we're all going to start crying!"

"I second that!" Paris wiped at the corner of her eye.

The four-woman composed themselves, "Did you see Logan?" Rory asked the room.

"He's completely ecstatic and might be a little drunk?" Lane had walked past the room on her way in and she heard glasses clinking, lots of yelling, and of course the infamous ready for anything phrase.

"Well with Finn, Robert, and Colin here I expected nothing less!"

"Which means we need to catch up?" Paris reached for the open bottle of champagne pouring four glasses, "To everyone's best friend, the most beautiful bride, an incredible writer, mother, and who will be an incredible wife. Rory soon-to-be Huntzberger!"

"Are you taking his last name?" Lorelai paused the clinking of glasses; they hadn't really talked about it.

Rory grabbed her mom's hand, "Nope! I'm a Gilmore girl and I'm going to stay that way! Cheers!" She clinked her the champagne flute with everyone else, taking a singular sip, cautious so that she didn't embarrass herself at the ceremony.

Her mother had never looked prouder.

"Oh! It's time for the first look!" Rory set the glass down and smoothed her dress and hair out once more in the mirror, "Is this it? Because we're out of time to do anything else!" She joked.

"Fabulous!"

"Perfect!"

"Never looked better!"

All voices chimed in with phrase.

She kissed both children on the cheek, grateful that three strong women sat in the room to take care of them through the day, making it seem like it was hers to enjoy guilt free.

The corridor to where they were doing the first look was long and closed off from guests. The vintage building was budding with history and she was grateful that despite the wedding wasn't held in Stars Hallow, everyone from Stars Hallow still choose to attend.

All except one.

She had heard mutterings that Jess would not be attending from Luke. He never outright said it and when he said anything at all he would brush off his lack of attendance as a work thing or a life thing. Still stung.

"You look beautiful!" A voice echoed from down the hall.

She turned back to where she had come from and noticed the figure, "Jess?" Had he read her mind, "I heard you weren't coming!"

"I couldn't miss this!" He walked towards her, "He's the luckiest man…"

She nodded, "I feel like I'm the luckiest woman!" It was awkward and tense and uncomfortable, "I didn't like how we left things a year and a half ago!"

"I didn't either. I'm sorry!" He grabbed her hands, "I'm happy for you. I'm happy for you both!"

She pulled him into her for a hug, voice dropping to a whisper, "Thank you…" They held each other for a minute, allowing old feelings and new to intermingle. It felt oddly platonic and absent of any romantic musings. It was friendly; it was very adult; it was perfect. "I'm on my way to the first look but I'll see you out there!"

"Sounds great!" He waved, slipping back through the door where the rest of the guests hung out.

It was peaceful the way they had been able to fall back into a routine of old friends. She felt like she was able to fully commit herself to the day knowing that everyone was here, in this place, in the space of contentment. She pushed open the door to the outdoor patio filled to the brim with greenery, history, and a Huntzberger.

She had seen him in suits, in costumes, in pajamas, in nothing but something about the way he wore this specific tuxedo drove her wild. Her whole self, felt unworthy. He had been an absolute gem through the end of the pregnancy, through the wedding planning, the housing remodel, the first year of life with newborns turned toddlers and she couldn't imagine the journey with anyone else. Her only regret was not starting it sooner.

"Hi…" She couldn't muster up any other words.

He turned, mouth agape as soon as his eyes hit her, "Wow!"

"Wow!" She echoed, sliding in closer.

He held his hand out, pulling her towards him, "Is it lame if all I say is how incredible you look? Because you look… incredible!"

"Is it lame if I say I like you in this?" She tugged at his lapels, sizing up the fabric and cut of the entire ensemble, "Should we do this thing?"

He smiled in that way that made his eyes almost disappear, shy smirk over taking his entire face; he was laughing at her simple response, "I'm ready for anything!"

* * *

**quick note: thanks to everyone who took the time to read, follow, favorite, review this story! i appreciate it and am grateful for a community that enjoys exploring the future of GG as much as i do. :) **


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